Object alarm device and object alarm method

ABSTRACT

There is provided an object alarm device and an object alarm method, which can surely alarm a driver of a high-risk target object. The object alarm device according to the embodiment includes a detecting unit, a selecting unit and, an alarm information generating unit. The detecting unit detects one or more objects from images captured on a movable body. The selecting unit selects a moving object and a still object from among the objects detected by the detecting unit, in which the still object has a contact possibility with the movable body. The alarm information generating unit generates alarm information on the objects selected by the selecting unit.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority of theprior Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-116073, filed on Jun. 8,2015, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The embodiment discussed herein is directed to an object alarm deviceand an object alarm method.

BACKGROUND

There is known a conventional object alarm device that detects an objectby using an image captured by a movable body such as a vehicle andalarms a driver of the detected object, in which the object existsaround a vehicle and has a possibility that the vehicle is in contactwith the object.

As an example, the object alarm device includes a device that changes adegree of highlighting and alarms a driver of the changed highlightingon the basis of priority sequence that should be reported to the driverwith respect to the detected objects (see Japanese Laid-open PatentPublication No. 2007-87337, for example).

However, the device according to the technology described above alarms adriver of all detected objects. Therefore, it has a possibility that thedriver may overlook a high-risk target object because the device has toomuch alarm information.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of an embodiment, an object alarm device includesa detecting unit, a selecting unit and, an alarm information generatingunit. The detecting unit detects one or more objects from imagescaptured on a movable body. The selecting unit selects a moving objectand a still object from among the objects detected by the detectingunit, in which the still object has a contact possibility with themovable body. The alarm information generating unit generates alarminformation on the objects selected by the selecting unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The present invention can be appreciated more completely and advantagesthereof could be easily understood in the description of an embodimentbelow with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an object alarm methodaccording to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an object alarm device accordingto the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a superimposed image;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a warning symbol;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display mode change ofthe warning symbol;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of warning sound; and

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure that isexecuted by the object alarm device.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an object alarm device and an object alarm method accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure will be explained in detailwith reference to the drawings. The embodiment disclosed below is notintended to limit the present invention. Although a case is explained inwhich a movable body is a vehicle in the following embodiment, themovable body may be an electric railcar, a ship, an airplane, forexample.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an object alarm methodaccording to an embodiment. An image displayed on a display 2 asillustrated in FIG. 1 is a simplified version of a superimposed imageaccording to the embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, an object alarm device 1 is mounted on avehicle 100. Moreover, a camera 3 and the display 2 (alarm unit) ismounted on the vehicle 100. The camera 3 captures the image of the rearof the vehicle 100. In FIG. 1, a scene is illustrated where the vehicle100 straight reverses to the direction of an arrow 20. Still objects 30a and 30 b exist in the rear, namely, in a traveling direction of thevehicle 100. Hereinafter, a plurality of still objects may becollectively referred to as a still object 30.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a superimposed image 2 a is displayed on thedisplay 2. The superimposed image 2 a is obtained by superimposing animage captured by the camera 3 and an image generated by the objectalarm device 1. The still objects 30 a and 30 b of the superimposedimage 2 a are an image captured by the camera 3. On the other hand,predicted lines 40 and a warning symbol 50 of the superimposed image 2 aare an image generated by the object alarm device 1.

Herein, the predicted lines 40 indicate both ends of a band-shapedpredicted trajectory of the vehicle 100, namely, border lines of thepredicted trajectory. The border lines indicate, for example, a pair oflines. In the following explanations, an area sandwiched by the pair ofpredicted lines 40 and the other area may be respectively referred to as“the inside of the predicted lines 40” and “the outside of the predictedlines 40”.

The warning symbol 50 indicates a graphic or a character that emphasizesthe still object 30 a that is a target object for alarm. In the presentembodiment, although a case is explained in which the warning symbol 50is a line corresponding to a base of a frame that encloses the targetobject, the warning symbol 50 may be a frame that encloses the targetobject, or may a character or a graphic.

The object alarm device 1 may blink the warning symbol 50 with apredetermined period. Moreover, in the following explanations, the lowerside of the display 2 indicates a position close to the vehicle 100, andthe upper side of the display 2 indicates a position far from thevehicle 100.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, when the vehicle 100 reverses along thedirection of the arrow 20, the still object 30 that first contacts withthe vehicle 100 is the still object 30 a that is within the travelingrange of the vehicle 100 and is closest to the vehicle 100.

Therefore, in this case, the driver of the vehicle 100 requires mostattention to the still object 30 a. In other words, because the vehicle100 contacts with the still object 30 a before contacting with the stillobject 30 b, the object alarm device 1 should preferentially alarm thedriver of the presence of the still object 30 a.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the object alarm device 1 selectsthe still object 30 a of the still objects 30 a and 30 b, which has thehighest contact possibility with the vehicle 100, and alarms the driverof only the presence of the selected still object 30 a.

In other words, when a plurality of still objects exist within thetraveling range of the vehicle 100, because the object alarm device 1selects only the still object that has the highest contact possibilitywith the vehicle and alarms the driver of the still object, alarminformation can be minimized and thus the driver can be surely alarmedof necessary information.

As described above, because the object alarm device 1 minimizes alarminformation to be delivered to the driver, the object alarm device 1assists, when there are two or more still objects, the driver toinstantly determine which of the objects is the riskiest still object.Therefore, the object alarm device 1 can appropriately perform driveassist by alarm information.

Next, the internal configuration of the object alarm device 1 will beexplained with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a block diagramillustrating the configuration of the object alarm device 1 according tothe embodiment. In FIG. 2, only components needed to explain thecharacteristic of the present embodiment are illustrated, and generalcomponents are omitted.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the object alarm device 1 includes acontroller 11 and a storage unit 12. The display 2 and the camera 3 areconnected to the object alarm device 1. Moreover, one or both of thedisplay 2 and the camera 3 may be included in the object alarm device 1.

The controller 11 is a central processing unit (CPU), for example, andtotally controls the object alarm device 1. Moreover, the controller 11includes an acquiring unit 11 a, a course computing unit 11 b, adetecting unit 11 c, a selecting unit 11 d, and an alarm informationgenerating unit 11 e.

The camera 3 is, for example, a rear camera mounted on the rear of thevehicle 100 to capture an image of the rear of the vehicle 100. Thecamera 3 outputs the captured image to the acquiring unit 11 a inaccordance with the set frame rate. The installation position of thecamera 3 is not limited to the rear of the vehicle 100, and the imagecapturing area is not limited to the rear of the vehicle 100.

The acquiring unit 11 a is an input port, for example, and acquires animage captured by the camera 3. The acquiring unit 11 a outputs theacquired captured image to the alarm information generating unit 11 e.Moreover, the acquiring unit 11 a outputs the captured image as imageinformation 12 a to the storage unit 12.

The storage unit 12 is a semiconductor memory device such as a RandomAccess Memory (RAM) and a flash memory, or is a storage device such as ahard disk and an optical disc.

The image information 12 a is “captured images” consisting of aplurality of frames input from the camera 3 via the acquiring unit 11 a.Moreover, the image information 12 a is output to the course computingunit 11 b and the detecting unit 11 c.

The course computing unit 11 b computes the course, namely, thepredicted trajectory of the vehicle 100 on the basis of the imageinformation 12 a. More specifically, the course computing unit 11 bextracts a mobile vector (optical flow) that links the samecharacteristic points from the images consisting of the plurality offrames included in the image information 12 a and arranged in timeseries, and predicts the course of the vehicle 100 on the basis of theextracted optical flow.

In other words, the predicted trajectory of the vehicle 100 isdetermined by a steering angle, and different steering angles causedifferent predicted trajectories. Therefore, it is possible to computethe latest predicted trajectory of the vehicle 100 from the latestoptical flow. Furthermore, it is possible to compute the latest steeringangle from the latest predicted trajectory.

Therefore, it is possible to estimate the latest steering angle on thebasis of an optical flow, and compute a predicted trajectory of thevehicle 100 when the vehicle travels at the steering angle by using acomputing process in which a steering angle is used as a parameter.

Then, the course computing unit 11 b computes the predicted trajectoryof the vehicle 100 on the basis of the predicted course and the width ofthe vehicle 100. The border lines of the predicted trajectory are thepair of predicted lines 40 described above (see FIG. 1). The coursecomputing unit 11 b then outputs “predicted trajectory information”including the computed predicted trajectory to the selecting unit 11 d.

The width of the pair of predicted lines 40 corresponds to the width ofthe vehicle 100. However, the width of the lines can be adjusted to bewider than the width of the vehicle 100, for example. Moreover, insteadof computing the predicted lines 40 on the basis of the imageinformation 12 a, the course computing unit 11 b may compute thepredicted lines 40 on the basis of the steering angle detected by asteering sensor (not illustrated), for example.

The detecting unit 11 c detects an object such as for example a stillobject and a moving object on the basis of the image information 12 a.More specifically, the detecting unit 11 c detects an object from theimage information 12 a on the basis of the optical flow described above,for example.

For example, when there is an object of an optical flow different fromthe other optical flows in length and direction, the detecting unit 11 ccan determine this object as a moving object and objects of the otheroptical flows as a still object. As described above, the detecting unit11 c detects both of the still object and the moving object. Moreover,the object alarm device 1 may separately detect the still object and themoving object by using separated processing units that operate inparallel.

When detecting an object, the detecting unit 11 c outputs “objectinformation” to the selecting unit 11 d. The object information isinformation that is obtained by associating position information of theobject that includes a distance between the detected object and thevehicle 100 with a classification that indicates whether the detectedobject is the still object or not the moving object.

The selecting unit 11 d selects a target object for alarm from amongobjects detected by the detecting unit 11 c. More specifically, theselecting unit 11 d first acquires the predicted trajectory informationfrom the course computing unit 11 b and the object information from thedetecting unit 11 c.

Next, the selecting unit 11 d selects the target object for alarm by theprocedure to be described later, and outputs “selected objectinformation” that is information on the selected object to the alarminformation generating unit 11 e. Moreover, the selecting unit 11 doutputs the predicted trajectory information received from the coursecomputing unit 11 b to the alarm information generating unit 11 e.

In this case, the selecting unit 11 d selects all moving objects whenthe moving objects are included in the object information describedabove, and checks object information of the detected still objects withthe predicted trajectory information described above when the stillobjects are included in the object information. As the result ofchecking, the selecting unit 11 d selects a still object located insideof the predicted lines 40 from among the detected still objects.

Because it is hard to predict the movement of the moving object, theobject alarm device 1 considers that the moving objects have a highdegree of risk by which the moving objects contact with the vehicle 100,and sets all the moving objects as targets for alarm. On the other hand,because the object alarm device 1 sets, among the still objects, onlythe object located in the predicted trajectory as a target for alarm,the object alarm device 1 can surely alarm the driver of a high-risktarget object. Moreover, the selecting unit 11 d may select a stillobject located in the predicted trajectory and closest to the vehicle100 from among the detected still objects.

In other words, a still object existing outside the predictedtrajectory, or a still object that is second or more closest to thevehicle 100, even if it exists inside the predicted trajectory, is notselected, namely, is not set as a target for alarm.

In this case, the selecting unit 11 d selects, from among the detectedstill objects, a still object having a high possibility that this stillobject first contacts with the vehicle 100, and thus assists the driverto instantly determine the riskiest still object.

When a plurality of moving objects at the same distance are detected,the selecting unit 11 d selects moving objects of the previouslydetermined number (two or three, for example) from among the pluralityof moving objects located at the same distance from the vehicle 100. Thereason is because limiting alarm information to be delivered at a timeprevents the determination of the driver from being disturbed due toexcessive alarm information.

This limitation may be applied to still objects. By doing so, when thereare a plurality of moving objects at the same distance as the neareststill object, the number of moving objects as targets for alarm can belimited. Moreover, when there is the nearest plurality of still objects,the number of still objects as targets for alarm can be limited.

As another example, when the vehicle 100 is stopped, the selecting unit11 d once cancels the selection of the detected still object, forexample. On the other hand, the selecting unit 11 d continues to selectthe detected moving objects, and resumes the selection of the stillobject when the vehicle 100 starts to move.

The reason is that the object alarm device 1 does not require to alarmthe driver of the still object, because both of the vehicle 100 and thestill object are stopped and thus the vehicle 100 has a low contactpossibility with the still object when the vehicle 100 is stopping.

The alarm information generating unit 11 e generates a superimposedimage obtained by superimposing an image captured by the camera 3 and agenerated image. The generated image is, for example, the predictedlines 40 and the warning symbol 50 described above (see FIG. 1). Morespecifically, the alarm information generating unit 11 e acquires theimage captured by the camera 3 via the acquiring unit 11 a, and acquiresthe selected object information and the predicted trajectory informationcomputed by the course computing unit 11 b from the selecting unit 11 d.

Then, the alarm information generating unit 11 e generates asuperimposed image that is obtained by superimposing, on the imagecaptured by the camera 3, the predicted lines 40 included in thepredicted trajectory information computed by the course computing unit11 b and the warning symbol 50 such as a frame and a line emphasizingthe object selected by the selecting unit 11 d.

The alarm information generating unit 11 e generates warning sound toalarm the driver of the presence of the detected object. The warningsound is changed in accordance with a distance between the vehicle 100and the object selected by the selecting unit 11 d. The warning sound issound different from pulsed sound that is generated during the reverseof the gear of the vehicle 100.

As described above, because the warning sound is different from soundduring the reverse of the gear, it is possible to prevent falserecognition of the driver. Moreover, the blinking period of the warningsymbol 50 may cooperate with the period of warning sound. This point isexplained below along with the details of warning sound with referenceto FIG. 6.

As described above, the alarm information generating unit 11 e outputsto the display 2 the superimposed image to visually warn the driver andthe warning sound to acoustically warn the driver. The display 2 is, forexample, a liquid crystal display with a speaker, and displays thesuperimposed image generated from the alarm information generating unit11 e and generates the warning sound.

When the display 2 does not have a voice output function, the alarminformation generating unit 11 e may output warning sound to anamplifier (not illustrated) or a speaker (not illustrated) mounted onthe vehicle 100.

Next, the superimposed image output from the object alarm device 1according to the embodiment will be explained with reference to FIG. 3.FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the superimposed image.As illustrated in FIG. 3, the superimposed image 2 a includes thepredicted lines 40, vehicle-width lines 45, still objects 30 c, 30 d, 30e, and moving objects 31 a, 31 b. Hereinafter, the plurality of movingobjects may be collectively referred to as moving objects 31 in somecases.

Herein, the vehicle-width lines 45 are a pair of lines that indicatesthe width of the vehicle 100 in the present direction of the vehicle100. In FIG. 3, the vehicle-width lines 45 are illustrated with dottedlines. However, if the vehicle-width lines 45 can be distinct from thepredicted lines 40, the vehicle-width lines 45 may have another displaymode. Moreover, as illustrated by the predicted lines 40, a scene inwhich the vehicle 100 goes back in a right direction is illustrated inFIG. 3.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the superimposed image 2 a includes a warningsymbol 50 d corresponding to the still object 30 d, a warning symbol 50a corresponding to the moving object 31 a, and a warning symbol 50 bcorresponding to the moving object 31 b.

Herein, each the warning symbol 50 is equivalent to the base of a framethat encloses an object as a warning target. The reason is because theposition of the base of the frame corresponds to a distance with eachobject. Furthermore, the reason is because the driver can easily catch asense of distance with an object as a warning target by emphasizing thebase. Moreover, a part (dotted lines illustrated in FIG. 3) other thanthe base of the frame may be displayed to be more poorly visible thanthe base, or may not be displayed.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the still object 30 c exists at a positionclosest to the vehicle 100 among the detected objects. However, becausethe still object 30 c is a still object that is located outside thepredicted lines 40, the still object 30 c is not a target for alarm.

Although the still object 30 e is located inside the predicted lines 40,the still object 30 e is a still object that is located at a positionmore distant from the vehicle 100 than the still object 30 d. On theother hand, the still object 30 d is a still object that is inside thepredicted lines 40 and is located at a position closest to the vehicle100.

For this reason, as described above, because the object alarm device 1selects the still object 30 d as a target for alarm from among theplurality of still objects 30, the warning symbol 50 d is displayed onthe base of the frame that encloses the still object 30 d.

On the other hand, as described above, the object alarm device 1 setsall the detected moving objects 31 as targets for alarm. The reason isbecause the detected moving objects 31 can suddenly change their movingdirections and moving speeds to rapidly contact with the vehicle 100.Therefore, it is preferable that the object alarm device 1 alarms thedriver of the moving objects 31 at the time when the moving objects 31are detected. For that reason, the detected moving objects 31 are set astargets for alarm regardless of the inside and outside of the projectedline 40 and the moving directions of the moving objects 31.

Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 3, both of the moving object 31 alocated outside the predicted lines 40 and the moving object 31 blocated inside the predicted lines 40 are set as targets for alarm. Forthat reason, the warning symbols 50 a, 50 b are respectively displayedon the bases of the frames that enclose the moving objects 31 a, 31 b.

Next, the alarm information generated by the alarm informationgenerating unit 11 e will be further explained in detail with referenceto FIGS. 4 to 6. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of thewarning symbol 50. When an image of a vehicle 150 is captured, FIG. 4indicates which position of the vehicle 150 the warning symbol 50 isdisplayed at.

A rectangular solid 70 illustrated in FIG. 4 is a frame that covers thewhole of the vehicle 150, and is computed by the detecting unit 11 c,for example. The rectangular solid 70 includes a surface 60perpendicular to the imaging direction of the camera 3. The surface 60includes a point (for example, bumper) on the vehicle 150 at which thecamera 3 and the vehicle 150 are closest to each other. Moreover, thedetecting unit 11 c may generate the rectangular solid 70 to be slightlylarger than the vehicle 150.

Herein, a base 51 illustrated in FIG. 4 is a line through which thesurface 60 contacts with a road surface. As described above, because thebase 51 is emphatically displayed with respect to the warning symbol 50(see FIG. 3), the driver can easily catch a sense of distance between anobject and the vehicle 150 or the like.

According to this, when there is the plurality of warning symbols 50,for example, the driver can instantly grasp a positional relationshipwith the plurality of target objects.

Next, an example in which the display mode of the warning symbol 50 ischanged in accordance with a distance will be explained with referenceto FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display modechange of the warning symbol 50. In FIG. 5, moving objects 31 areemployed as an example. However, it is considered that the same displaymode is applied to all the detected objects. Moreover, in FIG. 5, thevehicle-width lines 45 illustrated in FIG. 4 are omitted to simplify itsexplanation.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the predicted lines 40 and auxiliary lines 41a, 41 b indicative of a distance between the vehicle 100 and objects aredisplayed on the superimposed image 2 a. For example, the auxiliary line41 a is a line that indicates a position of 0.5 meters from the vehicle100, and the auxiliary line 41 b is a line that indicates a position of2.0 meters from the vehicle 100.

Moving objects 31 f, 31 g, 31 h, and warning symbols 50 f, 50 g, 50 hrespectively corresponding to the moving objects are displayed insidethe predicted lines 40 on the superimposed image 2 a.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the moving object 31 f is located between thevehicle 100 and the auxiliary line 41 a (for example, 0 to 0.5 meters),the moving object 31 g is located between the auxiliary lines 41 a and41 b (for example, 0.5 to 2.0 meters), and the moving object 31 h islocated at a position distant from the auxiliary line 41 b (for example,2.0 meters or more).

The alarm information generating unit 11 e as described above generatesalarm information obtained by changing the color of the base of awarning image in accordance with the distance of the detected object. Inthis case, it is preferable to employ a color to catch the attention ofthe driver as the distance between the vehicle 100 and the object issmaller. The reason is because there is a higher possibility that thevehicle 100 contacts with the detected object as the distance betweenthe vehicle 100 and the object is smaller.

Therefore, the alarm information generating unit 11 e generates alarminformation by which the base of the warning symbol 50 f of the movingobject 31 f located between 0 to 0.5 meters is displayed with red, thebase of the warning symbol 50 g of the moving object 31 g locatedbetween 0.5 to 2.0 meters is displayed with orange, and the base of thewarning symbol 50 h of the moving object 31 h located at the distantposition 2.0 meters or more from the vehicle is displayed with green,for example.

As described above, because the color of the base of a warning image ischanged and displayed on the basis of a distance with an object, it ispossible to easily catch the distance with the object from a higherperspective and instantly determine the distance with the object byusing the color of the warning symbol 50. Moreover, the thickness andwidth of the base of the warning symbol 50 may be increased as thedistance is nearer.

As described above, although it has been explained that the display modeof the warning symbol 50 is changed in accordance with a distance withan object with reference to FIG. 5, a distance up to an object isgenerally computed by using the camera 3 as a starting point. However,when the installation position of the camera 3 significantly departsfrom the leading end (for example, leading end of rear bumper) of thevehicle 100 in the imaging direction of the camera 3, the driver is easyto misrecognize a relative distance to an object.

Therefore, in order to make the driver recognize a positionalrelationship with an object more clearly, the object alarm device 1according to the present embodiment can change the starting point of adistance up to the object from the installation position of the camera 3to the leading end of the vehicle 100 in the imaging direction of thecamera 3.

For example, if the storage unit 12 previously stores as a correctionvalue a distance between the installation position of the camera 3 andthe leading end of the vehicle 100 in the imaging direction of thecamera 3, and the course computing unit 11 b or the detecting unit 11 ccorrects the computed distance by using the correction value, it ispossible to set the leading end of the vehicle 100 in the imagingdirection of the camera 3 as the starting point of the distance up tothe object.

As a result, the object alarm device 1 can generate the superimposedimage 2 a on which the distance through which an object contacts withthe vehicle 100 is accurately reflected. Therefore, it is possible toappropriately perform drive assist.

Next, an example of warning sound generated from the alarm informationgenerating unit 11 e as described above will be explained with referenceto FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of warning sound.Herein, “T” illustrated in FIG. 6 is two seconds, for example. However,“T” may be the arbitrary number of seconds.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, when a distance between the vehicle 100 andthe detected object is between 0.5 and 2.0 meters, for example, thealarm information generating unit 11 e blinks the warning symbol 50three times for the time “T” and generates the warning sound called apeep two times, for example.

On the other hand, when a distance between the vehicle 100 and theobject is between 0 and 0.5 meters, the alarm information generatingunit 11 e blinks the warning symbol 50 five times for the time “T” andgenerates the warning sound called a peep five times, for example.

As described above, because the blinking period of the warning symbol 50and the generation timing of warning sound are changed in accordancewith a distance between the vehicle 100 and the object while making thewarning symbol 50 cooperate with the warning sound, the driver canrecognize the presence of the object and a distance between the vehicle100 and the object by using an acoustic sense as well as a visual senseof the driver.

Because the warning sound is changed in accordance with a distance withan object, the driver of the vehicle 100 can recognize the distance withthe object by using the warning sound without viewing the display 2.

The case has been explained where the blinking period of the warningsymbol 50 is changed with reference to FIG. 6. However, the display 2may be provided with a luminous body on its frame, for example, to blinkthe luminous body.

Next, object alarm processing executed by the object alarm device 1 willbe explained with reference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a flowchartillustrating the procedure of object alarm processing that is executedby the object alarm device 1.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, when the acquiring unit 11 a acquires an imagecaptured by the camera 3 (Step S101), the detecting unit 11 c determinesthe presence or absence of object(s) in the image (Step S102). When thedetecting unit 11 c does not detect an object (Step S102: No) in thedetermination of Step S102, the process is terminated.

On the other hand, when the detecting unit 11 c detects object(s) (StepS102: Yes) in the determination of Step S102, the detecting unit 11 cdetermines whether the detected object(s) is(are) a still object (StepS103).

When the detecting unit 11 c determines that the detected object(s)is(are) not a still object (Step S103: No) in the determination of StepS103, the processes after Step S106 are executed because the object(s)detected by the detecting unit 11 c is(are) a moving object and thus allthe objects are targets for alarm.

On the other hand, when the object(s) detected by the detecting unit 11c is(are) a still object (Step S103: Yes), the selecting unit 11 ddetermines whether the position(s) of the still object(s) is(are) insidethe predicted line 40 of the vehicle 100 (Step S104). When the stillobject(s) is(are) located outside the predicted line 40 of the vehicle100 (Step S104: No) in the determination of Step S104, the process isterminated because there is not a contact possibility between thevehicle 100 and the still object(s).

On the other hand, when the still object(s) is(are) inside the predictedline 40 of the vehicle 100 (Step S104: Yes) in the determination of StepS104, the selecting unit 11 d selects an object closest to the vehicle100 from among the still object(s) detected inside the predicted line 40(Step S105).

Next, the alarm information generating unit 11 e generates alarminformation on the basis of distances between the vehicle 100 and thestill object selected in Step S105 and all the moving objects detectedin Step S103 (Step S106). Then, the object alarm device alarms thedriver of the alarm information by using the display 2 (Step S107), andterminates the process.

As described above, the object alarm device 1 according to theembodiment includes the detecting unit 11 a, the selecting unit 11 d,and the alarm information generating unit 11 e. The detecting unit 11 adetects objects from images captured on a movable body. The selectingunit 11 d selects moving objects and a still object having a contactpossibility with the movable body from among the objects detected by thedetecting unit 11 a. Then, the alarm information generating unit 11 egenerates alarm information on the objects selected by the selectingunit 11 d.

Therefore, the object alarm device 1 according to the embodiment cansurely alarm a driver of high-risk target objects.

In the embodiment described above, the case has been explained where thevehicle 100 moves backward as an example. However, the presentembodiment is not limited to this. In other words, a case where thevehicle 100 moves forward can be applied to the present embodiment. Inthis case, the object alarm device 1 can alarm a driver of targetobjects that exist in front of the vehicle 100 during the forwardmovement of the vehicle 100.

Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to thoseskilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects isnot limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shownand described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be madewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventiveconcept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An object alarm device comprising: a detectingunit configured to detect one or more objects from images captured on amovable body; a selecting unit configured to select a moving object anda still object from among the objects detected by the detecting unit,the still object having a contact possibility with the movable body; andan alarm information generating unit configured to generate alarminformation on the objects selected by the selecting unit.
 2. The objectalarm device according to claim 1, wherein the selecting unit selectsthe still object that is located in a moving direction and in a movingrange of the movable body.
 3. The object alarm device according to claim1, wherein the selecting unit selects, when the detecting unit detectsthe objects, a predetermined number of the objects from among thedetected objects.
 4. The object alarm device according to claim 2,wherein the selecting unit selects, when the detecting unit detects theobjects, a predetermined number of the objects from among the detectedobjects.
 5. The object alarm device according to claim 1, wherein thealarm information generating unit generates the alarm information thatis obtained by emphasizing a base of a frame that encloses each of theone or more objects detected by the detecting unit.
 6. The object alarmdevice according to claim 2, wherein the alarm information generatingunit generates the alarm information that is obtained by emphasizing abase of a frame that encloses each of the one or more objects detectedby the detecting unit.
 7. The object alarm device according to claim 3,wherein the alarm information generating unit generates the alarminformation that is obtained by emphasizing a base of a frame thatencloses each of the one or more objects detected by the detecting unit.8. The object alarm device according to claim 4, wherein the alarminformation generating unit generates the alarm information that isobtained by emphasizing a base of a frame that encloses each of the oneor more objects detected by the detecting unit.
 9. The object alarmdevice according to claim 5, wherein the alarm information generatingunit generates the alarm information that is obtained by changing adisplay mode of the base on a basis of a distance between the movablebody and each of the one or more objects detected by the detecting unit.10. The object alarm device according to claim 6, wherein the alarminformation generating unit generates the alarm information that isobtained by changing a display mode of the base on a basis of a distancebetween the movable body and each of the one or more objects detected bythe detecting unit.
 11. The object alarm device according to claim 7,wherein the alarm information generating unit generates the alarminformation that is obtained by changing a display mode of the base on abasis of a distance between the movable body and each of the one or moreobjects detected by the detecting unit.
 12. The object alarm deviceaccording to claim 8, wherein the alarm information generating unitgenerates the alarm information that is obtained by changing a displaymode of the base on a basis of a distance between the movable body andeach of the one or more objects detected by the detecting unit.
 13. Anobject alarm method comprising: detecting one or more objects fromimages captured on a movable body; selecting a moving object and a stillobject from among the detected objects, the still object having acontact possibility with the movable body; and generating alarminformation on the selected objects.